January 30, 2014 3:17am ESTJanuary 30, 2014 2:52am ESTIowa State's DeAndre Kane personifies his team and has the Cyclones in contention for a Big 12 title.DeAndre Kane(AP Photo)

Brian Goodman, Rush the Court

Published on Jan. 30, 2014

Jan. 30, 2014

While attention and pressure is focused on a group of high-ceiling underclassmen around college basketball this season, Iowa State guard DeAndre Kane continues to be one of the most important.

To understand why, it’s important to take a look at the path that led him to Ames, Iowa. Kane’s college career began with Tom Herrion at Marshall. Even though he was a playmaker from the beginning, Kane's attitude frequently got the best of him. He was assessed 14 technical fouls over his first two seasons, and the aggressive style often led to high turnover counts.

He remained composed enough to enjoy a productive career with the Thundering Herd and earn his degree. After his senior season, Kane and Herrion parted ways.

Because of an NCAA rule allowing four-year graduates an additional year of eligibility with another school, Kane looked for a fresh start. A long list of suitors followed and in the end, Iowa State — a program famous for its success with transfers including Royce White, Chris Allen, Korie Lucious and Will Clyburn — emerged as the winner for the 24-year-old last April.

Kane thrived right out of the gate and led Iowa State to a 14-0 start — and a Top-10 ranking. While Marcus Smart scuffled at Oklahoma State and Naadir Tharpe took time to adjust to a new role at Kansas, Kane led the Cyclones to important early-season victories over Michigan, Brigham Young, Iowa and Boise State. He suffered an ankle injury against Oklahoma on Jan. 12, but returned the next game to score 21 points and dish out eight assists at home vs. Kansas.

That same toughness was on display in Iowa State’s trip to Allen Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. A rocky start put the Cyclones in a 16-point hole midway through the first half. But as they've done so many times this season, they took on Kane’s persona and made runs.

Although Iowa State came up short in a 92-81 loss, the Jayhawks had trouble putting the Cyclones away, and Kane was a big reason why. He had been slumping prior to Wednesday, shooting just 25 percent from the field and averaging five turnovers in his last two games. But just as in his four years at Marshall and in his first 18 games with the Cyclones, Kane knew he couldn’t make any excuses.

He persevered against the Jayhawks and finished with 22 points and five assists in 34 minutes. Where previous opponents folded after a patented backbreaking Kansas run, Kane, Melvin Ejim and Georges Niang came thundering back.

“We just had to stay poised and go on runs. I think we did a good job of that. We battled back and that’s what championship teams do,” Kane said.

It helps to have a coach like the Cyclones' Fred Hoiberg, who's quite familiar with the the magic of Allen Fieldhouse.

“I’ve been in this building enough as a player, as a coach, as a scout, and it happens pretty much every game. They come out and hit their shots early and you have to withstand those runs. They do such a good job of jumping on you and you can’t panic,” Hoiberg said.

Conversely, Kansas coach Bill Self wasn’t at all surprised to see the Cyclones utilize their toughness and versatility in their comeback bid.

“We knew they’d make a good game out of it. They’re so hard to guard and they create matchup problems and switch,” Self said.

Wednesday’s outcome did nothing to reduce the biggest knock on Iowa State (15-4, 3-4 Big 12), which has now lost four of its last five — its inability to win a big game on the road. While there’s no shame in losing to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, a victory would have given the Cyclones’ NCAA Tournament resume a major boost. Their November win over BYU has lost juice as the Cougars have moved toward the outskirts of Tournament contention, and Iowa State’s only other away victory came against Texas Tech, which figures to be near the bottom of the Big 12 the rest of the season.

Road woes aren’t the only question facing this team, though. Its high-powered offense (84.8 points per game) becomes too reliant on 3-pointers, and a lack of size puts it at a defensive disadvantage.

Still, the conference is arguably the best in college basketball, so the next opportunity to work through those challenges and make a statement to the skeptics is never far away. The Cyclones’ next two games include a matchup with second-place Oklahoma and a road showdown with Oklahoma State.

Kane will need to draw on his experience and toughness as leads the Cyclones on a steep climb toward Big 12 contention. After watching them almost pull off an upset at the Phog, Self is a believer.

“They’ll be in the league race for sure if they keep playing like that,” he said.